You can lose your rights in a few different ways. Abandonment is one (each state varies) and is when you do not come by or even call for so many days... (costs money to file) You can lose them by failing drug tests, psychological exams, not complying with court ordered classes or meetings. But you cannot lose them due to failing to pay child support. You can go to jail for it though. Do you have a specific situation or are you just wondering? Search 'father's rights' and 'dad's rights' You'll be surprised what you find... we were.

1) "In family law, contact (or in the United States, visitation) is one of the general terms which denotes the level of contact a parent or other significant person in a child's life can have with that child. Contact forms part of the bundle of rights and privileges which a parent may have in relation to any child of the family. Following ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in most countries, the term "access" was superseded by the term contact. The terminology reflects a substantive change in the law. A parent is not necessarily any longer entitled to have "custody" of or "access" to a child. Instead, a child may be allowed to reside or have contact with a parent." "Visitation in the U.S.: Generally speaking, visitation is considered only a privilege granted to the non-custodial parent of any child of the family. The standard visitation awards by the family court in most U.S. states consists of alternating weekends and some holidays (usually amounting to four days a month unless the parent allows an increase in shared parenting time). However, the child, at or around the age of 13, depending on the state, may choose in which parent's home to live without government interference. Parents (and in some jurisdictions grandparents) frequently believe that they have a right to visitation or access; however, courts in several countries have used the subjective doctrine of the best interests of the child to deny parental or grandparental access to the child(ren). This is commonly found in cases when custody of the child(ren) is disputed and there is a history of interference with visitation. In such high conflict cases, there are often allegation of child abuse and/or domestic violence. In high conflict cases, visitation may be supervised by a social worker, psychologist, guardian ad litem, or other third party while the noncustodial parent visits with the child. Many noncustodial parents have visitation orders that allow the child to visit with them without any supervision. These visits often take place away from the custodial residence. Often the noncustodial parent is granted overnight visitation, weekend visitation, or vacation visitation. Parents may also share custody and may agree to allow visitation. In these situations a court order may not be needed, though sometimes it is obtained to forestall later disputes about what the parents had previously agreed to, and to allow the courts to have some oversight over the children (which they normally have under statute and under the parens patriae power)." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_(law%29 2) "The right to see a child regularly, typically awarded by the court to the parent who does not have physical custody of the child. The court will deny visitation rights only if it decides that visitation would hurt the child so much that the parent should be kept away." Source and further information: http://www.nolo.com/definition.cfm/term/E0919E0F-C7D1-448A-92E8346685ED8132 3) "In a Divorce or custody action, permission granted by the court to a noncustodial parent to visit his or her child or children. Custody may also refer to visitation rights extended to grandparents. In a divorce where one parent is awarded sole custody of the child, the noncustodial parent is usually awarded visitation rights in the divorce decree. Visitation rights can be withheld if evidence is provided that proves it is in the best interest of the child not to see the parent. This usually occurs only where it has been shown that the parent is an excessive user of alcohol, a user of illegal narcotics, or is physically or verbally abusive. With the large number of divorced parents in the United States, grandparents have lobbied successfully for laws that give them rights to visit their grandchildren. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has voiced concerns about such laws and ruled one such statute unconstitutional in 2000. Visitation rights may be determined by the agreement of the parties or by a court order. If the court concludes that the parents will be cooperative, it may not issue a detailed visitation schedule. This means that parents must amicably work out reasonable times and terms that work best for both parents and child. If parents are not cooperative, the courts encourage the drafting of a detailed schedule that leaves no doubt about the frequency of visitation, the days and times of pickup and return, and holiday and vacation schedules. Courts generally consider the wishes of the child when reviewing custody and visitation issues. A child's wish may be granted but it will be dependent on the child's age and maturity level, as well as what the court concludes is in the child's best interests. Courts also take into consideration the fact that the custodial parent may exert Undue Influence over the child's decision-making process and color the child's supposedly independent request. As children mature they may seek an order from the court changing custody and visitation arrangements. A common problem in Family Law is when one parent uses visitation to spite the other parent. Examples include a custodial parent refusing visitation, not having the child available for the noncustodial parent at the appointed time for pickup, or a noncustodial parent not returning the child at the prescribed time. When a noncustodial parent encounters problems in exercising visitation rights, the parent may stop paying Child Support as a means of changing the custodial parent's behavior. However, the courts do not recognize this as a valid reason for withholding support, as visitation and support are separate and discrete issues. These circumstances, if persistent, sometimes lead the parents back into court for resolution of the problems. When a substantial change in conduct or circumstances involving the parents occurs, the court may make permanent modifications in visitation rights. One of the parties must present clear evidence to the court of the change in conduct or circumstances. This evidence usually must be completely new to the court, as issues addressed in prior proceedings are generally not grounds for modification. Common grounds for permanent modifications include a persistent failure to follow the visitation schedule, repeated failure to return the child at the designated time, the teaching of immoral or illegal acts to the child, or the parent's conviction for a crime." Source and further information: http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Visitation+Rights

depends on which country you live